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Building Dual-Immersion Teacher Capacity: A Partnership Between Sonoma State University and Loma Vista Immersion AcademySonoma State University (SSU) and Loma Vista Immersion Academy (LVIA) have formed a new partnership focusing upon the professional development of Spanish-English dual-immersion teachers in a transition kindergarten (TK) through grade 6 setting. This partnership aims to build both the capacity and number of Spanish-English dual-immersion educators addressing the growing need for well-qualified professionals throughout the North San Francisco Bay Area.

Sonoma State’s Collaboration for the Renewal of Education (CORE) model ties education coursework with field experiences and requires intensive (approximately 600 hours) fieldwork from our Multiple Subject (i.e. elementary education) credential candidates. A critical mass of 5-10 student teachers spend an entire year at LVIA working alongside well-qualified mentor teachers to develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required of successful dual-immersion educators. Mentor teachers participate in on-site professional development workshops aimed at refining best practices which can then be articulated, modeled, and reinforced with student teachers.Sonoma State’s CORE model of teacher preparation is focused upon and goes beyond traditional models of student teaching and professional development. Grounded in the vision of John Goodlad (1994), university and school faculties support each other in mutual and ongoing improvement in the service of the students we teach. Our CORE model offers rich experiences for our teacher candidates and mentor teachers by providing opportunities for clinical observation, co-teaching, peer coaching, and collaborative models of professional development.